Electrical switch mechanism



Feb. 28, 1950 c, RUSSELL 2,499,166

ELECTRICAL SWITCH MECHANISM Filed Aug. 1, 1947 Ill-5:5

IN VEN TOR. 15 05542" 5. flam B ATTO/Q/VEY Patented Feb. 28, 1950 'ELEQTRICAL SWITCH MECHANISM Robert 0. Russell, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Eaton Manufacturing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation ofOhio pplication Aug t 1947, Serial No. 7655343 9 Claims. (01.318-267) Thisinvention relates to shifting mechanism and more p rticularly to control means therefor.

Broadly the invention comprehends the provision of control means for an electrical motor actuated gear shifting mechanism such. as. disclosed by my'co-pending U. S. application Serial No. 589,201, filed April 19, 1945, now Patent No. 2,462,779, comprising an electrical circuit having the motor as an element thereof and including a manual. control member and an automatically actuated switch providing for movement and control of the gear shifting mechanism in a quick and smooth manner.

An. object of the invention is the provision of controlled power means for actuating gear shifting-mechanism comprisinga reversible motor as aisource of power arranged in a compound electrical circuit controlled coniointly by the operation of the gear shifting mechanism and manual control means for movement of the gear shifting mechanism to any desired position in a quick, smooth, and efilcient manner.

Another objectof the invention is. the provision of. power means for actuating gear shifting mechanism or the like controlled as by a manual operated switch and agear shifting mechanism automatically actuated: switch mechanism arranged-in the electrical supply circuitof. the power means providing for controlled operation of the gear sln'fting. mechanism in either direction to one gear shifting mechanism limiter the other and desired intermediate. positions between the limits.

A- further object of the invention is'v the provision of control mechanism for the power means of. gear shifting mechanisms or the like providing for the positiveplural positioning or-move ment of the gear shifting mechanism upon the manipulation. of a single manually operated switch provided in the electrical circuit of the power: means for whatevershifting mechanism operation desired.

Other objects and. advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in. connectionwith the drawings forminga part of -the specification; and in which:

I Fig. 1 isa. diagrammatic illustration of an electrical control system. for electricalv power means for actuating, gear shifting mechanism;

Bigg e is a partially broken and partially sectlon'allzed fragmentary face plan. Viewer :3. gear 'fshlitin'gi'me'chanism taken somewhat along line 2.--2 ot'lllg. 3;

Fig. 3 is across-sectionalviewtaken along line 8-4. ofIFig. 2; and.

Fig; 41s a cross-sectional viewer the automatically. actuatedswitch, mechanism incorporated in the electrical control system of Fig 1 takenalong line 4-4 ofFig, 1.

With the advent. of electrical. mechanism for shifting ears and. the like as generally illustrated by. my co pending U. S. application Serial No. 589,201, it has become. vitally necessar to. provide meansfor effectively controlling the power actuating means thereof for the quickefllcieut, and, smoothoperation. of the gear shifting mechanism, The, present control means is additive to my co-pending U; S. application Serial No. 751,333, filed May 29,1947, now abandoned, in that it provides a control system permit in of the controlled actuationof gear shifting mechanism. for any of several desired. shiftin Operations such as forward, reverse, and, whatever intermediate gear shifting P sitions required by the mere. manual manipulation of a control lever to. the designated shift desired? Thecontrol lever is arranged as partvof a simple electrical system, including a reversiblc electric. motor and novel. ci i swi means therefor automatically actuated by move ment of. aliortlon of the gear shifting mechanism which is directly actuated by rotation of the motor. Included in the switch means is a Geneva motion mechanism. that permits of setting of the circuits controlling operation or the motor so that the motor is immediately responsive to manual changes of the control lever so as to effect movement of the gear shiitingmechanism in, a smooth, quick, and efflc'ientmanner as desired and designated by the control shift lever.

The electrical-system ofjwhich the. manual control 1ever,,revers1ble electric motor, .and automatically actuated switch vmechanism. form a part comprises primarily. a pair of simple electric circuits each. having-opposite polarit fields to one another associated withthe motor and fed from an. electrical source of power through the control lever or switch froma storage battery or th like. The instant structure is an amplificationofthat disclosed and claimed by my co-pending U. S. application Serial No. 751,333 in the provision of the Geneva operated lever mechanism which forms in circuit with one or the other of the pair of'circuits depending. upon which limit of shiftingposltion the control lever has previously been moved to. number-of intermediate'shilting positions possiblelsdependent upon the number of. Geneva levers. provided, one, being required for each position intermediate tull'forward and re-- verse.

Referring to. the drawings formore specific etails cfthe invention. it represen s generally an by Fig. 1 comprises a pair of electrical circuits l6 and is of similar arrangementand each having arranged therein respectively opposite polarity fields 2i} and 22 associated with the reversible.

motor 24 forming a part of each of the circuits.

i only conveyed from one to the other in accordance with operation of the lever mechanism ar ranged therebetween.

The arms 40 and 42 are provided respectively with fingers 8B and 81 thereon and lever arm 66 of lever 64 is notched at 95 adapted to be engaged by a lug or finger BB formed of insulated material secured to nutmember 46 whenifthe nut member moves in one direction or another in the course of its travel along the length of screw member 44 to complete both or either of the cir- The circuits l6 and I8 are supplied a suitable operation desired.

source of electrical power such asfrom storage battery 26 controlled as by a.,,sh'iftcontrol lever or switch 28 appropriately arranged for manual manipulation between the circuits Iii and i8 The negative sides of the battery and motor are conventionally grounded respectively as indicated; at

30 and 32.

. Associated with the electrical circuits and arranged intermediate thereof is a combination switch mechanism 34 adapted to be automatically controlled by the actuation of a screw nut mechanis 35, forming a part of gear shifting mechanism 38', ,said'screw nut mechanism being actuated directly in accordance with the direction of rotation of motor 24, The positioning of switch mechanismtgt determines the establishment of either circuit IE or it as the case may be up to ,theswitch 28 for the further operation or rotation of'motor 24 in accordance with subsequent manipulation or shifting of switch or lever 28.

- The switching mechanism 34 includes a pair of pivoted arms 40 and 42 respectively adapted to beiassociated with circuits l6 and Is for the making, or breaking thereof in accordance with the movement of mechanism 36 which is actuated by the motor 24-to whicha screw member 445 is at- .fixed for rotation therewith, whereas a nut member 46 thereof is movable axially along the screw in one direction or another depending upon the rotation of the motor. 'With the nut member 46 or the mechanism 39 located intermediate the f arms 40 and 42 during the course of its travel from one end to the other of itsllimits upon screw '44 tension springs 48 and Ellins'ulatingly separated from one another hold the arms in electril-cal contact with respectivecontactor points 52 andie connected to terminal posts. 55 and 58 of therespective circuits !6 and i8 and as such proj'vide for the completion of both circuits through 'of gear shifting mechanism 38 toa neutralposi- :tion intermediate the other extreme shiftin position a Geneva lever 64 is arranged in the switch mechanism 34 comprising a body pivoted inter 'me.diate of arms 40 and42 and including a lever arm 66 adapted tobeactuated bys crew M in the course of its movement and. a pair of oppositely f. disposed arms 68 and 10 respectively adapted to engage contactor points," and M aiiixed to terjninal posts 16 and 18 of the pivot arms All and ,42 respectively. The pivot point of lever t4 forms a terminal post 80 having a lead 82 terminating in control lever 28 switchposition 84 which designates the neutral shift position for the control lever and the gear shifting mechanism. The terminals 56, 58, 1.6, 18, and 30 a? P10 2 1 3? nsulated It is readily conceivable that any number of w from one another so thatthe how of current 'threbetween is normally inhibited and can "be 76 irom thatju st completed.

cuits l6 and la in accordance with the shifting With'all of the operating mechanisms in full lineposition, as shown by Fig. 1, wherein the shift switch lever 28 is set to position 8 1 corresponding to a neutral shift position of the screw nutmechanism 35 and gear shifting mechanism 38, current from the storage battery 26 is inhibited fro-m flowing to either of the fields of the motor for the actuation thereof inasmuchas the lever 64' has disassociated the control lever as'a means of supplying current to either circuits I6 and i8. Simultaneously with this positioning of control switch '28 both circuits l6 and it are completed through switch mechanism 3 t await ing the manipulation of control lever to whatever shift desired whether it be position 58 or fi2for the proper required subsequent actuation of the gear shifting mechanism in accordance with the rotation of motor 2 1 and movement of screw nut mechanism 36.

Upon the movement of control lever 28 to position corresponding to full forwarcl'positioning of the gear shifting mechanism 38, the field 20 of motor 24 arranged in circuit iii will'be ener gized by way of current being supplied from battery 26 throughposition to of circuit i6,'throu gh post 16, arm 40, contactor point 52, post 5% to field 22 of the motor resulting in rotating the motor in a counter-clockwise direction looking from the screw nut mechanism end thereof resulting in rotating the screw likewise and in view of its righthand pitch causing movement of the nut'toward the motor r i I i 15. .5. "As the nut is moved toward the motor away from a position intermediate the arms 40 and 42 the lever 64 is initially pivoted throughthe en'- gagement of lug 88 and notch 9! resulting 'in causing engagement between the contactinge'nd of arm 10 with contactor'point M. As the screw nut mechanism is further actuated to complete the shifting of the gear shifting mechanism to full forward, lug 88 engages finger 35 on arm til erfecting movement of the arm away from contact on point 52 thus breaking the circuit and operation of the motor.

" direction from neutral without any lost 'time in the electrical response to operation of ,motor 24 and the screw nut mechanism actuated thereby, it is also possible to efiect a shift from one extrezne position to the other by merely moving theshift switch lever to the other extreme of shift position similar Geneva levers such as 64 together with individual control leads therefor such as lead 82 can be employed to provide any number of desired intermediate shifting positions.

Figs} 2 and'3 illustrate a form of gear shifting mechanism adapted to be associated with the screw nut mechanism 34 and includes a lever 90, actuated by movement of nut member 46, connected to a preloaded spring mechanism 92 which in turn is connected to a lever arm 94 for actuating a shift arm 96. The shift arm 95 is provided with notches 98, It, and I02 representing the positions of forward, reverse, and neutral positions of the gear mechanism, not shown, which is to be actuated thereby adapted to be engaged by a spring pressed ball mecham'sm N14 for affording light locking load to each shift position of the switch mechanism 34. The-screw nut mechanism 36 and gear shifting mechanism 38 are more fully shown and described by my co-pending U, S. application Serial No. 589,201 new Patent No. 2,462,779.

' While this invention he s been described in connection with certain specific embodiments, the principle involved is susceptible of numerousother applications that will readily occur to persons skilled in the art. The invention, therefore, is limited only as indicated by, the scope of the appended claims. WhatI claim 1. An electrical system for controlling the operation of. a reversible electric motor shifting apparatus having a free wheeling, type of ball nuts'crewmechanism as apart thereof comprising a pair of electrical circuits connected in parallel with the motor for operating the motor in both directions ofrotation, a source of electrical power ior the circuits, 2. switch mechanism arranged in "the circuits comprising a pair of spaced make and break switches one for each circuit and a pivotal electrical current conductor to bev alternately engageable therewith and a manual control member connected to the source of electrical power for alternately connecting the circuits directly with the source of power through the make and break switches or through the pivotal current cone ,ductor, said make and break switches adapted to "be engaged by the nut member of the shift apparatus at the extreme end shift movements of 'the shift apparatus and. the current conductor adapted to be engaged by the nut member for an intermediate shift or neutral operation.

, 2. Mechanism for controlling the operationv of a reversible electric motor shifting apparatus comprising a free wheeling type of ball-nut-screw mechanism, the screw of which is rotatedbythe motorand the. nutof which is axially moved along the screw upon the rotation of the screw by the motor, a pair of electrical circuits connected in parallel with the motor, a combination switch 'mec'hanism comprising a pair of make and break switches one connected in each of the parallel circuits, and a third switch for connection alternately with each of the make and break switches, said three switches each having a. lead .lihe extending therefrom, a source of electrical Tcurrent for the parallel circuits and the third tSWitCh a manually actuated switch for connecting the leads of the switches independently to the source of current for the flow of current through the desired switch, means on the nut engageable with the switches at the end limits of its motion and intermediate its limits effective to alternately make or break one of the parallel circuits at its end limits or to connect the third switch to one or the other of the parallel circuits in the course of its axial shifting motion.

3. Mechanism for controlling the operation of a reversible electric motor shifting apparatus having a ball-n'ut-screw mechanism as a part thereo! comprisinga pair of electrical circuits connectedv a third switch arranged in a separate circuit: adapted to alternately become a part of the other circuits, a source of electrical current for the switch circuitseach of the switches having electrical lead line connection with the source of current, and a' manually actuatedswitch con.- nected withthe source of current for establishing independent current'flow by way of the lead line connections of the respective switches to any one ofthe switches as desired, said net of the ballnut-screw' mechanism being axially movable to engage the make and break switches at its opposite substantially end limits of movement and the third switch substantially intermediate its end limits, the engagement of the nut with the third switch efiective to connect said switch with or disconnect it from one or the other of the parallel circuits dependent on the axial direction of movement of the nut and the current flow control as established by the manually actuated switch.

' 4. Mechanism for controlling the operation of areversible electric motor shifting device having an output member movable thereby, comprising a current source, a manually actuable current conducting switch connected to said source of current, an electrical circuit for energizing said motor from said current source for the forward operation thereof, an electrical circuit for energizing said motor from said current source for the reverse operation thereof, an electrical make and break-switch in the forward rotation circuit for the motor, an electrical make and break switch in the reverse rotation circuit for the motor, each of said Iorward and reverse circuits having a contact terminal therein engageable by the manually actuable switch for supplying current therethrough to the motor circuit thereof, and switch means supplied current from the current source having make and break relation with the respective forward and reverse circuits of the motor and having a current contact terminal engage- :able by the manually actuable switch for the sup,-

ply of current thereto, said make and break switches and switch means adapted to be actuated in response to movement of said output memberoperable to control the motor operation inaccordance with the positioning of said mam ually actuable switch.

5; Mechanism for controlling the operationof a shifting device having a reversiblev electric drivingqmotor and an output member movable thereby in opposite directions along a given path of travel to positions corresponding with the differentshift positions of said shifting device, comprising a current source for operation of the motor in either direction, and a circuit control control means operable to control said circuits so as to cause operation of said shifting device in accordance with a selected setting of said manual switch;

'6. Mechanism for controlling the operation of a shifting device having an output member movable in opposite directions along a given path of travel to end and intermediate shift positions, comprising a reversible electric motor operably connected with said output member to drive the same, a current source, circuit means for energizing said motor from said current source for operation in either direction, a manually actuable switch having settings controlling the supply of current to said circuit means and corresponding with said end and intermediate shift postions, a pair of normally closed switches in said circuit means and adapted to be selectively opened in response to movement of said output member for stopping said motor when said manual switch is set at an end shift position, contact members in said circuit means, and switch means supplied current from said current source having make and break electrical relation with said contact members in response to movement of said output member for controlling the operation of said motor when said manual switch is set at an'intermediate shift position, said manually actuable switch also controlling the supply of, current to said last mentioned switch means.

'7. In combination with a, shifting device having an output member movable in opposite directions along a given path of travel to end and intermediate shift positions, a reversible electric motor operably connected with said output member to drive the same, a current source, a pair of circuits for energizing said motor from said current source for operation in either direction, a, pair of normally closed switches one in each circuit and adapted to be selectively opened in response to movement of said output member near its end limits for stopping said motor, contact members in said circuit means,

switch means having current supply connection with said current source engageable in make and break relation with said contact members in response to movement of said output member intermediate its end limits for controlling the operation of said motor, a manually actuable switch having settings for engagement with the circuits and the current supply connection of the switch means for controlling the supply of current thereto corresponding to said end and intermediate shift positions of said output member, and holding means effective on a portion of said shifting devices and adapted to yieldably resist movement thereof when said shifting device is at a given shift position.

, 8. In shift control mechanism of the character described, a coaxial screw, a nut member operably connected thereto by ball elements interposed therebetween, a reversibleelectric motor adapted to rotate one of said members for causing axial travel of the other of said members to end and intermediate positions, a current source, a pair of circuits for energizing said motor from saidcurrent source for operation in either direction, a pair of normally closed switches one in each of said circuits and adapted to be selectively opened in response to movement of the axially movable member near its end limits, contact members one in each of said circuits, switch means supplied current from said current source shiftable between said contact members in response to movement of said axially movable member intermediate its end limits and a manually actuable switch having settingsfor controlling the supply of current to said circuits and to said last mentioned switch means and corresponding with the end andintermediate shift positions of the shiftable member, and holding means effective to yieldably resist movement of said axially movable member away from selected shift position to which it has been moved.

9.- Mechanism for controlling the operation of a reversible electric motor shifting device having an output member movable thereby along a given path of travel to positions corresponding with different shift positions of said shifting device, comprising a current source, circuits for energizing said motor from said current source for operation in either direction, a manually actuable switch controlling said circuits and having circuit control settings corresponding with said different shift positions, a pair of normally closed switches one in each of said circuits adapted to be selectively opened in response to movement of said output member near the end portion of said path of travel for stopping said motor, and normally opened paired switch means supplied current from the current source independent from the other switches one in each of said circuits adapted to be selectively closed in response to movement of said output member along said path of travel from its intermediate to its end positions for controlling said circuits to cause operation of said shifting device in accordance with a selective setting of said manual switch such that upon the manual setting of the switch means to a position for the shifting of the output member from an end position to a position intermediate its end positions the paired switch means will be alternately opened and closed to cause the immediate reversal of movement of the output member if it over-rides its desired intermediate shift position in either direction. v

9 ROBERT C. RUSSELL.

REFERENCES CITED The. following references fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS are of record in the 

